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Five years ago today, I set off on one of the biggest adventures of my life. Granted, I'm only 23 and so my life hasn't been particularly long yet and though five years seems an age ago to me, I know it's not really that long ago. To be fair, I haven't even been on that many adventures to compare it with. Regardless...

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the Northern Hemisphere’s most iconic carnivores. However, in a matter of centuries, the grey wolf has been exterminated from at least a third of its former range [1]. Until 2004, wolves remained listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List for Endangered Species [1]. The grey wolf is now making an unexpected comeback in North America and Europe [2–4]. A proposal to strip the grey wolf of the protection from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently sparked debate, leading to an independent review of the species’ situation in North America [5]. Despite the recovery wolves are making, retracting their protected status could reverse this situation once again [5]. What’s more, a mere rise in numbers may not suffice to ensure the future of the species, as extreme population reduction and fragmentation come with less apparent, genetic consequences as discussed below [6–8]. Additionally, as an apex predator, a great deal of controversy surrounds …

PhD student studying the ecological genetics of Caribbean seagrass at Manchester Metropolitan University. Following graduating with a first class BSc(Hons) in Zoology from the University of Manchester, I worked as a research technician for over two years. I am broadly interested in tropical biology, ecology, biogeography, and palaeobiology.

About the blog

This blog contains snippets from my year living in the Ecuadorian Amazona, including camera-trapping mammals, climbing trees, and counting critters in bromeliads; as well as notes on evolution, conservation, and any other biological topic that sparks my interest. I mostly aim to make these topics accessible to general audiences, so the non-science-enthusiast can find them as interesting as I do!